Day To Day
by Ongaku Neko
Summary: No one ever warned Hermione that everyday life could be so... monotonous. Hermione/Draco
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.**

**WARNING: Lemon and Lime**

**KittyNeko: Epilogue? What epilogue?  
**

_Any idiot can face a crisis – it's this day to day living that wears you out. – Anton Chekhov_

**Chapter 01**

Every day was the same. Day in and day out she went through the same motions, getting up, going to work, coming home, eating, bathing, sleeping. It hardly every varied.

Hermione supposed she should have been grateful – and she was! – really. This was exactly what she, Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Wizarding community had fought so hard to achieve; the right to live without the threat of imminent death hanging over their heads at every moment.

Still, she had always thought that normal life would be a bit more… eventful. It wasn't that she expected every day to be chock full of excitement, but it was only a little over a year since Voldemort fell, and she already seemed to have settled into a rut.

Nineteen years old and already in a rut.

Hermione punched in her time card and walked into the tiny storage closet full of filing cabinets that was supposed to be her office. Already a pile of papers sat in her in-box, waiting for her to file.

Not for the first time, Hermione questioned her choice not to finish her seventh year at Hogwarts. Sure, she had managed to get a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures as a research assistant, the way she had always wanted. Of course, she had assumed that meant she was going to do research. Apparently not. Instead, she spent most of her time filing and the rest of the time with mindless paperwork.

Even though she was part of the Golden Trio who helped defeat Voldemort, she was still technically a dropout who never took the NEWTS and getting a higher position was out of the question at this time. She would have to work hard, fighting tooth and nail, to get to a higher position.

Still, she Hermione Granger! Up to the challenge and sure she would be able to dazzle the higher ups with her brains and capability! Full of energy and raring to go!

A year of being stuck in the filing room had finally managed to dampen her spirits. How was she ever supposed to be able to show off her capabilities if her most challenging task entailed alphabetizing?

Her pay was pretty pathetic too – barely over minimum wage.

Deciding that it was pointless to waste time, Hermione grabbed the first paper at the top of the large pile and began filing.

She was trying to stay positive, honestly. No one likes someone who can only see the negative aspects of their life and constantly bitch about them. And she most certainly did have things to be grateful for.

Her relationship with Ron Weasley was still going strong. In fact, they were living in a small apartment together without any wedding plans in sight, much to Hermione's relief. She really did love Ron, but she wasn't ready for that step and he eventually agreed with her. Despite Molly's Weasley's protests and sermons about 'cow' 'milk' and 'free', Ron and Hermione had ultimately done what they thought best. It made the most sense to move in together – neither of them was making enough money to live alone.

Ron's net pay had since gone up considerably. He went into business with George and they had managed to get Weasley's Wizard Wheezes up and running on all cylinders once again. Hermione was truly happy and proud for her boyfriend, but there was also that little niggling of envy at the back of her mind. It wasn't that he made more money, or even that he was more successful. It had more to do with the fact that he genuinely enjoyed his job and couldn't wait to go every day, whereas she was finding it increasingly difficult to get out of bed every morning.

No need to point out the obvious again, but she was Hermione Granger! Where was her drive? Her need to put in a hard day's work?

She felt pointless and expendable – two things she was not familiar with, nor did she care for.

Ron wasn't the only one who was enjoying his professional life. Harry was in the middle of training to be an official Auror (despite also being a dropout. Bitter? No!) Ginny had recently gotten an offer to play for the Holyhead Harpies, Luna was working for the Quibbler, and even Neville had the job of his dreams. Only Hermione seemed miserable.

"Granger."

Hermione jumped so hard at the unexpected voice in her office that she dropped the papers she was holding and they scattered all over the floor. She was unable to contain a growl of frustration that bubbled up in her throat. Great. Now she would have to re-alphabetize those.

The intruder simply lifted a pale eyebrow at her obvious distress. It was then that she decided to take out a bit of her frustrations on him.

"Malfoy!" she snapped. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!"

Draco's eyes never left her as he took a half step backward, rapped the back of his knuckles on her open door once, and moved to her desk to deposit more papers on her in-box.

"Les sent more filing for you. Enjoy," he said, walking away with a smirk on his face.

"You could at least shut the door!" Hermione snarled at his retreating back, knowing that it would have no affect on him. Still, the simple act made her feel slightly better.

Whether it be through connections or generous money donations, Draco had somehow managed to get a job as Les's secretary. The job was about as low on the totem pole as hers and Hermione was surprised that he had taken the position on begin with. Though on further reflection, his family name had been dragged through the mud in recent years and he had to start somewhere.

Les was Draco and Hermione's boss, but as secretary, Draco was a bit of a go-between them. Really, the person Hermione had the most contact with every day was Draco.

On the other hand, Les was much too busy to give her orders directly. As such, she hardly ever saw him except when he came down to bitch at her for pulling the wrong files, despite the fact that it wasn't her fault his handwriting was illegible.

She sometimes wondered if he did it on purpose when he was having a crummy day, just so he would have someone to yell at. It wouldn't surprise her.

That was another lovely part of her job. She had to deal with Draco Malfoy on a daily basis. Their exchanges were never long and were very similar to what had just transpired. They never actually got into fights, but Hermione was ashamed to admit that when she was arguing with him, it was the most she ever felt like her old self. He brought out a side of her that she missed.

Even though Draco's job was full of as many trivial tasks as hers, Hermione couldn't help being a tad bit envious. At least he wasn't stuck in a cell of a room and got to talk to people occasionally. Hermione's only social time was lunch, and that wasn't much unless one of her friends was actually able to meet her somewhere.

It was a sad day when Hermione Granger ended up jealous of Draco Malfoy. It was then and there that she vowed to do something to change her life, bring some kind of passion or excitement into it. One way or the other.

The only way that seemed feasible at the moment was in her relationship with Ron. Well, that was as good a place to start as any.

* * *

Hermione stared at the clock from her spot on the couch and sighed. It was already 1:00 a.m. and Ron still wasn't home. He had flooed hours ago to tell her that they were crazy busy at the store, and he was going to have to stay late.

"Not a problem," she had replied, secretly thrilled that she was going to have a little extra time to get things prepared. She was making a feast of a dinner and had even broken out the sexy lingerie Ginny had bought her as a joke. She had plans to seduce him and have madly passionate sex. That was at nine.

At eleven, she figured he had ended up staying late to close the register and clean. That was understandable. He really was stepping up to the plate by helping George run that place.

1:30 and the food on the table was almost as cold as her libido.

She refused to admit defeat and go to sleep though, more to find out why he was out so late than her whim to bring passion into her life.

It was at 2 o'clock that he walked through the doors, slightly unsteady on his feet and reeking of cigarette smoke.

"Hermione?" his voice came out confused, upon spotting his girlfriend sitting ramrod straight on the sofa and giving him the stink eye. "What are you doing still up?"

"Waiting for you," she answered simply. "I made dinner." She gestured to the kitchen where you could see the table full of food.

"Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry, Hermione," Ron said, coming over to her. He sat down next to her, so he wasn't towering over her. "George and I went to get a bite to eat and a few drinks after we closed. I knew you had to be at work by eight tomorrow, so I didn't think you would still be awake. I'm so sorry."

Ron put his arm around her and Hermione allowed herself to lean into his warm embrace. That made sense. It wasn't like she cooked dinner every day or something. She usually just went to bed before him when he closed the shop. How would he know any different if she didn't tell him?

"It's alright," she finally said, meaning it. She felt a bit foolish, in the end. Way to really take charge of her life.

After a few seconds, something occurred to Ron. "What are you wearing?"

Hermione felt herself blush, and buried her face in his smoky robes. "It's nothing."

"Were you going to jump me?" he asked, humor in his voice.

When Hermione didn't answer, he simply chuckled and grabbed her chin, pulling her into a kiss. Despite that he tasted like fire whisky and she was no longer in the mood, she let Ron kiss her and then carry her to bed where they made love. Just like always.

* * *

The late night caught up to Hermione the next day and she found herself rushing to work without even running a brush through her flyaway hair.

So the plan had failed. Oh well. At least she had sex, even if it wasn't exactly passionate and was bordering on vanilla. It was still something.

Her sleep-deprived body disagreed.

"Granger." Draco's voice stopped her as she passed by his desk on the way to her cell.

"What?" She snapped, sorely in need of her morning coffee.

Draco seemed unaffected by her sunny disposition and simply handed her a small piece of parchment. "Les wants you to pull these files first thing. Just bring them to me."

Not trusting her mouth to be civil, Hermione grabbed the paper and retreated to her office.

"Oh, and Granger?" Draco's voice called after her, bringing her to a halt. "There's this great invention called a hairbrush. You might want to look into getting one."

Hermione blamed the lack of caffeine in her system for what came out of her mouth next. "Maybe I'll just borrow the one you have shoved up your ass." She slammed the door on his surprised laughter.

Her mood didn't improve when she was alone in the safety of her office. Apparently, someone had seen fit to fill her in-box with so much paper that the stack was as tall as her. It was going to be a long day.

Not quite sure where to begin, Hermione flopped down on her hard chair and sighed. She wasn't exactly sure why she did it, but something told her to put her head on the table for a couple minutes to relieve her headache. It was just a couple minutes, after all.

She fell asleep.

* * *

"_Granger."_

"_What do you want, Malfoy? I'm busy. I don't have time to deal with you." There was a mountain of papers waiting for her to put them in their special files. As she looked at the pile, it only seemed to expand until it reached the ceiling. Great. Now she would never finish._

"_I don't care," he said, his tall form looming over her. Hermione took a step backward and hit the side of her desk. Her office wasn't very big, after all. _

"_What are you doing?" Hermione asked, annoyance overtaking her fear. She had so much work to do and he was wasting her time! Papers! They were eagerly waiting for her! Demanding she file them!_

"_Giving you what you want." He said and shoved her shoulder, not hard enough to hurt her, but enough so that she had to steady herself against the desk once again._

"_And what is it that I want?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the better of her once again._

_He didn't answer, instead his mouth twisted in a half-smirk. That was the last thought she had before that same mouth was covering hers, hot and wet, and completely unyielding. _

_Hermione made a noise in the back of her throat and even she wasn't sure if it was one of protest, or of encouragement. _

_Draco, of course, considered it encouragement. He gripped the back of her thighs and lifted her onto her desk, her butt bumping into the in-box and sending its contents to fall over the room like confetti. _

_Pretty, she thought absently._

_Draco's mouth left her lips to attack her throat in such a way that had her panting. He was relentless – she knew it would leave marks and somehow didn't care._

_His hot hands ran up and down her legs, pushing her sensible black skirt up her thighs, and yanking her button up shirt out of the waistband. Hermione tried to undo her own buttons, but he shoved her hands away. He promptly grabbed the flaps and ripped her shirt open, the buttons flying around the room. Her blouse hung at her sides in tattered ruins. _

_Slightly annoyed ad the destruction of her clothes, she decided to repay the favor and did the same thing to his shirt. She was surprised at how good it felt and then she was free to run her hands over the muscled planes of his torso._

_It didn't last long, however, because Draco had pushed up her flimsy bra and clamped his mouth over her nipple, sucking harshly. Hermione cried out in surprise at how unusually sensitive she was. He pinched her other nipple between his forefinger and thumb hard enough to make her cry out in pain._

_Not one to be upstaged, Hermione grabbed a fistful of his pale locks and yanked so hard, his head jerked backward. _

"_Oh, Granger," he said, his voice deep and sending shivers up and down her spine, "You're going to regret that."_

"_I doubt it," Hermione answered, reaching for his belt buckle. _

_Free from the zipper of his pants, Draco leaned into her against the table, his lips finding her again. He pushed her knickers to the side and positioned himself against her waiting entrance. Hermione had never wanted something so much in her life and she rocked her hips, pushing the tip of his penis inside her. _

_That was the last bit of encouragement he needed before he sank inside her, filling a need she hadn't even been aware she had. _

_He pounded into her again and again, the sound of slick flesh filling the small room. A tension was slowly building deep in her belly, and she wanted to – no, _needed_ to – release it. _

"_Granger."_

_She was almost there. _

"_Granger."_

_Just a bit more._

_

* * *

  
_

"Granger."

She was almost there. Just a bit more.

"For the love of Merlin, Granger! Wake up!"

Hermione sat up so fast, she almost gave herself whiplash. As it was, she knocked her in-box and the pile of papers went flying all over the room.

She blinked in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on, but the falling papers brought a very unwelcome memory with them. Her dream came to her memory with full force. It was so vivid; she could have sworn it had just happened. As it was, her knickers were even still wet.

Mortified beyond words, Hermione glanced at Draco, and looked away quickly. How could she ever look him in the face again after a dream like that?

"Did you get those files Les wanted pulled?" he asked, oblivious to her witch's shame.

"Uh, no," Hermione answered, avoiding his eyes. She pushed her chair back and got on her feet. "I have to, uh, go to the ladies room."

And she ran out of her office, not looking back.

**KittyNeko: That's it for chapter one! I'd love to know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Kitty Neko: OMG! A fast update! Don't die of shock now. I was surprised that a couple people mentioned my other story, Natsu, in the reviews. Especially since it's for a different series. Still, I wanted to reassure everyone that I haven't given up on Natsu or Bad Hair Day (another Hr/D story). I am just suffering from an extrememly evil case of writer's block. Just know that I will never give up on my stories, until they are finished! Anyways, on with the show!**

**Chapter 02**

_Don't worry about tomorrow – today will probably do you in._

As mortifying as having a wet dream about her former enemy was, Hermione decided not to dwell on it.

_It was just a dream, after all_, she told herself while splashing her face with cold water in the ladies' room. A silly, stupid dream. One that she would never act out. Never! So what was the point in getting all worked up about it?

Besides, she had probably only had that dream because she had been thinking about sex a lot lately and it had worked itself into her subconscious. As for Draco Malfoy being in it… well, that was just chance. He was the last person she had seen before she fell asleep, so it was only natural that he be on her mind as well.

Hermione dried her face on a rough paper towel and then blanched at her reflection in the mirror. Sweet Merlin! Her hair was a mess. That was perhaps the first moment she was relieved that she worked in a room where no one could see her.

There really was a bright side to everything.

"Granger!" The always grumpy voice of her boss barked at her as soon as she exited the bathroom.

For one terrifying moment, Hermione was positive that Draco had told him about her falling asleep on the job and had already concocted several different ways to end the blond man's life without getting caught, when Les barked another order at her. "I have a job for you – follow me!"

Hermione obediently fell into step behind him, only to be led to her own office. "This room is a mess!" Les exclaimed, pointing out the obvious. The filing cabinets were filled to the brim, even with their expansion charms, and some even refused to stay shut. It was something she had pointed out to him once when she just started her job and didn't yet know about his explosive temper. He had brushed her off back then (i.e. yelled at her), so she wondered why he cared so much now.

"The entire ministry is going to be having inspections next week, and I refuse to have even the filing room of my department get a bad report. I don't know how you even find anything in this dump!" His double chin wobbled, and he glared at her with tiny, beady eyes.

Hermione was sorely tempted to point out that it was like this when she started, and that the fact she was able to locate anything was a sign of her extreme competence, but she held her tongue.

"Clean it up!" Les yelled, a tiny speck of spittle hitting Hermione in the face. "Box up all the files from over 100 years ago and take them down to the basement for storage! You have a week to get this crap in order!"

Hermione felt her jaw go slack. Did he have any idea just how many files were in that room? There was no way she would be able to get that done in a week!

"But, sir-"

"A _week_, Granger!" Les cut her off, leaving no room for discussion. He stomped out of the filing room and past Draco's desk to get to his own large office, and slammed the door with a bang.

Hermione's heart was pounding with disbelief. That man was either insane or just incredibly evil. He needed to be sent to St. Mungo's!

No, she thought sadly while staring at the filing cabinets with depressed resignation. It was her that was going to need St. Mungo's after this.

Hermione felt someone staring at her and turned to look out her open door. Sure enough, Draco Malfoy had his gaze fixed on her. He didn't look away when she made eye contact either. He simply raised an eyebrow.

"What?!" she asked, extremely irritated and half-hoping that he would pick a fight so she could relieve some of her stress.

Draco just shook his head. "Nothing. You might want to get started."

Hermione slammed the door shut so hard, the cabinets shook.

* * *

A few hours in and Hermione was still on the first drawer. It appeared that she would be putting in a lot of overtime this week.

She was using her wand to levitate all the files in that particular drawer so she could look through them easier, when her door swung open and hit her on the back of the head. The pain immediately caused her to lose concentration and the levitating files scattered all over the room.

Hermione clutched her aching head and stared at the mess with morbid fascination.

Draco cleared his throat, bringing her attention to him. She kept her face carefully blank. "I didn't see you there." He said by way of explanation, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"That's why you should knock!" Hermione growled, feeling something inside her snap. Something had been bothering her all day, and she wanted some answers. "Why didn't you tell Les about me falling asleep this morning?" She asked bluntly. He may have fired her, and she wouldn't have been stuck doing this stupid assignment.

The corner of Draco's mouth twitched. "Because he would have fired you and it would be me stuck doing this instead of you. There's nothing I hate more than filing."

Hermione's mouth dropped open, leaving her to gape like a fish. He was evil. Pure evil.

"You have a message from Weasley," Draco continued, as if he hadn't just admitted in delighting in her misery. Which, of course, he hadn't said _outright_, but it was _implied_.

Draco held out a small piece of parchment to Hermione and she took it, all the while glaring at him and hoping he would spontaneously combust. He would be gone, and her files would be sure to catch on fire, thus becoming gone themselves. Two birds with one stone!

Mission accomplished, Draco went back to his desk – leaving her door open, of course. Hermione closed it with her foot and unfolded the piece of parchment. A short message was written in Ron's messy scroll.

_I'm making dinner tonight. Come home hungry! – Ron_

Not a problem, Hermione thought with a sigh. She was going to have to skip lunch to clean up the mess she had just made.

* * *

Hermione was the last person to leave her department that day, and then she only left because she knew Ron would be waiting for her. She had barely managed to make a dent in all the files, and cold dread was settling deep in her stomach. It was just too much for one person to do alone!

She walked through the front door of her apartment and was immediately hit with the delicious smell of food. She had skipped breakfast and lunch, and her hunger pains had started to become painful.

"You're home late!" Ron said, unusually chipper.

Hermione eyed the meat, potatoes, and other goodies on the table and her tummy rumbled in anticipation. "It's a long story. Wow, this looks amazing! You did all this?"

"My mum helped," Ron shrugged.

"Is this a special occasion?" Hermione asked, feeling like she was missing something.

Ron didn't answer her question; instead, he moved to pull her chair out. "Have a seat! You don't want it to get cold, do you?"

Hermione sat and watched as Ron served her a plate, all the while getting more and more suspicious. Sure, Ron had always attempted to be chivalrous towards her since they started dating, but it was never to this extent.

She was about to interrogate him, but he cut her off before she could say anything. "Well, dig in!"

Hermione couldn't help herself – the food was just too distracting. Molly Weasley was many things, at the top of which, was an _amazing_ cook.

They ate in amiable silence, until Ron attempted small talk. "How was work?" Unfortunately for him, it was the wrong topic.

Hermione swallowed the food in her mouth and sighed before telling him exactly how her day had been – minus the sex dream about Draco Malfoy. Somehow, she had the feeling he wouldn't react well to that bit of information.

Hermione rambled on through most of dinner about Les and the evil filing cabinets of doom, only pausing to shovel more food in her mouth. She was usually a much daintier eater, but the combination of her frustration and hunger was causing her to imitate Ron's eating habits.

She was on her second helping by the time she registered the glazed look in her boyfriend's eyes.

"Sorry," Hermione said sheepishly. What had happened to her manners? "How was your day?"

That seemed to do the trick. Ron's eyes lit up as he told her about the shop and some of the new merchandise he and George were working on. Hermione squashed her growing jealousy and listened as he talked about how wonderful everything was going for him.

"And the best part," Ron paused for effect, a twinkle in his brown eyes, "We've been doing so well that I'm going to be getting a raise."

"That's great!" Hermione exclaimed, forcing herself to be enthusiastic. It wasn't his fault that he was the only successful one. He had rightly earned it and she was going to be properly happy for him.

"And I've been thinking," Ron stopped everything he was doing so that he could look her in the eyes. Hermione suddenly got the feeling that she was about to find out exactly what this dinner was about. "We should get married."

Her fork dropped to the table.

Hermione was in shock. It felt like the floor was falling out from under her and she couldn't figure out why. This wasn't the kind of reaction she was supposed to have to the man she loved, proposing to her!

All she could do was stare at him with big eyes.

"You're surprised?" Ron sat back, a big grin on his face. Apparently, he wasn't picking up on his girlfriend's distress. "I know! I was too for a while, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I'm doing so well at the store and making enough money. It just feels _right_. I'm ready to get married and start a family!"

Hermione's stomach flopped, making her queasy. "A family? Ron, we're nineteen."

Ron's face fell slightly, finally noticing Hermione's lackluster response to his proposal. "Yea," he said slowly, "My mum was twenty when she had Bill."

Hermione was turning twenty next month. The thought of having a baby already was enough to send her hyperventilating. It wasn't just that she felt too young (although that was front and center stage in her mind), but she didn't feel _ready_ for it. True, no one was ever _really_ ready for children, but something felt wrong.

She was stuck in a crappy job, with no end in sight. She wasn't making much money and she still lived in an apartment. None of those were the ideal situations she had always had for when she got married and started a family. At the very least, she had assumed she would be well established in the career of her dreams.

"Ron," Hermione started cautiously, trying to figure out the best way to word her concerns, "I'm not so sure about this."

Already, his face was settling into the stubborn, stony expression he used to get when they were still at Hogwarts. She hated that look. It meant that he wasn't going to take what she was about to stay to heart. Still, she had to try.

"I don't think I'm ready for all that."

Ron perked up slightly. "You mean children? We can wait a while for that."

Her heart sank even more. Children? As in, more than one? He was already thinking that far ahead? It suddenly occurred to her that they had never talked about how many children they each wanted.

Being an only child, Hermione had always assumed she would have one – maybe two, max. However, Ron came from a big family. Was he wanting more than that? Of course he was, Hermione berated herself mentally. He may have had to grow up competing with his siblings, but he also had many great times being in such a big family. It was everything to him.

"We could get married and wait a year or so before we have children," Ron's face was perky again, as if he had just solved all their problems.

A year? There was no way she would have gotten very far in her job by then. A year wasn't very much time at all. Come to think of it, she had only been dating Ron a little over a year now.

Besides, she had the sneaking suspicion that he would change his mind once they were married. That was something he did often. He would compromise with her, and then take back his part of the deal once she had already agreed. Of course, he would wait until she was in too deep to back out. It was something she had learned fairly early on in their relationship.

"Doesn't this feel like it's happening too fast?" Hermione asked, trying again to make her point without making him shut down on her.

"No," Ron said bluntly. "I'm ready for this. It's what I want."

"But I'm not ready!" Hermione finally blurted out, unable to take it anymore.

_It's not what I want. _

Ron's face was pale, his freckles more noticeable than ever. "Why?"

Something told her that this was going to be the biggest fight the two of them had ever had. Considering how many times they fought, that was really saying something.

Still, it was her life and she wasn't going to back down. This was something too important for her to just take. It would affect her forever! It was time to pull out her negotiating skills.

"Ron, _I love you_. I do. You know that. I'm just not sure I want to get married yet." Ron's face was blank. She couldn't tell if her words were having an effect on him at all. "It just seems so rushed! We're barely out of school! We have a lot of time."

Ron said nothing, just stared at her.

"We could have a long engagement," Hermione said, against her better judgment. She knew it probably wasn't a good idea. It would almost certainly end the same as the promise to wait to have children would. She just couldn't stand the way he was looking at her. It hurt.

"My mum says people who have long engagements never end up getting married. And that it's pointless anyways. If you're living together, you might as well be married."

Hermione disagreed. Despite what people said, marriage changed everything. That tiny piece of paper had the tendency to make people act completely different.

Hermione and Ron may have been living together and splitting the living costs, but they still had their separate money. They had their own expenses, their own freedom.

"I'm not where I want to be in my job," Hermione tried again.

Ron cut her off before she could elaborate. "If your job is the problem, why don't you just quit? I'm making plenty of money to support us!"

A lump formed in Hermione's throat. Quit? Leave something unfinished? That just didn't seem plausible to her. The fact that he thought she was the kind of person that could, kind of bothered her. "I've been working my whole life so that I could have a good job," Hermione said. Ron frowned.

"But you hate your job! So, what's the point?"

"I don't plan to stay at this specific job forever. I want to work my way up in the Ministry. I've always wanted to make a difference in the Wizarding community."

"But you already have," Ron said, pointing out the obvious.

"Yea, I know we helped Harry defeat Voldemort. But that's not the same. I want to change the laws, work on the fundamental issues. I'm not ready to give up all that!" She wanted to help house elves and other magical creatures. She wanted to hack down on the prejudices against muggle born witches and wizards. There was still so much she wanted to do!

"Then don't give it up!" Ron said, raising his voice. "You can still do all that while married to me! Why are you acting like being married to me would be the end to all your dreams?"

That was a good question. She supposed it had to do with the way Ron's family worked. She had heard once that Molly was a good student in school with a promising job offer once she graduated. Instead, she married Arthur and started having children, and her life had taken a backseat.

Hermione thought Molly was pretty amazing, but that didn't mean it was what Hermione wanted for herself. Was that so wrong?

"Ron-"

"No," Ron cut her off. "All I'm hearing are excuses. I think the question is pretty simple. Do you want to marry me or not?"

It was not simple! It was one of the most important things she would ever do, and he was rushing her. Of course she wanted to marry him! Just not right now. "I do, it's just-"

"Hermione," Ron cut her off again, and Hermione felt like a small child being reprimanded by a parent. "It's a yes or no question. Do you want to marry me?"

It was not a yes or no answer. Yes, she wanted to marry him. No, she didn't want to marry him now. She was beginning to resent the fact that he was trying to make everything so black and white. He, of all people, should have realized that the world wasn't that simple.

Anger beginning to bubble in her veins, Hermione opened her mouth to answer the question that would change the rest of her life with a simple, one-word answer.

"No."

She then went on to explain to him exactly why, and that she wanted to marry him in a few years, after she got more settled in her career. But it seemed that all Ron had heard was that two letter word.

Hermione went to take her bath that night while Ron did the dishes, feeling a great pressure on her chest and wondering if maybe she had made the wrong decision.


	3. Chapter 3

_You can't please everyone. But it is possible to make 'em all mad at the same time. _

**Chapter 03**

The unease carried with Hermione into the next morning, and it was no wonder – when she got out of the bath that night, Ron was already in bed with his back turned toward her. He spoke to her in the morning, but it was short and forced.

In order to avoid the awkwardness, Hermione had dressed quickly and headed off to work almost an hour early. It was probably for the best; she needed as much time as possible to get those files organized anyway.

When she got to the Ministry, only a few early risers were trickling in. She was unsurprised to note that she was the first one in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

However, it allowed her to take full advantage of uninterrupted filing time. Since it didn't require a whole lot of brain power, Hermione's mind wandered to the previous night.

Was she absolutely, positively sure that she had made the right choice?

Well, yes.

It killed her to see how hurt Ron was, but that couldn't be helped. Logic was her oldest friend, and it had convinced her that it was bad timing. Even her gut instinct (which she didn't care to solely rely on) had screamed that she wasn't ready. There was only a tiny corner of her heart that was telling her that this was a potentially disastrous mistake. She loved Ron, why not marry him?

She just couldn't. She wasn't the type of girl to throw away all her hopes and dreams to be with the one she loved. She simply wasn't engineered that way.

In fact, saying no to Ron's proposal was the most Hermione-like thing she had done in a long time. Back in her Hogwarts days, she had always done what she thought was right; even if it meant that she would incur the wrath of her friends. A prime example of that was the Firebolt incident. To this day, she still believed she had made the right decision.

She had lost sight of that somewhere along the way, in the quest to defeat Voldemort. She had allowed Harry to be their leader, because that was just the way it was supposed to go. It was a little difficult because, while she wasn't exactly leader material (her bossy attitude had the tendency to make people resent her), she most certainly wasn't a follower.

She had stuck to her guns, and it felt empowering!

Hermione had been working for two hours, when she heard her door open behind her. There was no knock, so she figured it would be Draco. It didn't matter how many times she yelled at him, she seriously doubted he would ever bother knocking.

"Granger."

Yup. At least he had the decency to open the door slower and not give her a concussion this time.

"You really need to get a better opening line," Hermione responded.

Draco simply arched a pale eyebrow at her. "But I was under the impression you didn't much like my nickname for you." Hermione narrowed her eyes, but he continued before she had time to say anything. "Les wants these files in an hour."

Hermione's annoyance at the person invading her office was automatically forgotten when she glanced at the parchment he held outstretched toward her. She snatched the parchment from his hands quickly. "Are you kidding? This is way more than usual!"

Draco simply shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'not my problem' and went back to his desk. Her door remained open.

Hermione stared at the impossible list of files, as well as all the filing cabinets she still had to go through, and seethed. There was no way! It was not humanly possible - even with magic.

Tired of being walked over, Hermione slammed the parchment on her desk and left her office. She stomped past Draco's desk and over to Les's office, ignoring the curious look Draco was giving her. She was tempted not to knock, but knew that it might put Les on the defensive. Hermione tapped her knuckles on the door twice and opened it before her boss could answer.

"Malfoy!" Les snapped, not looking up from what he was doing. "I thought I told you not to bother me."

"Sir," Hermione said by way of greeting.

Les's head snapped up. He was unaccustomed to Hermione visiting his office. She couldn't blame him; usually she avoided it like the plague.

"Is this important, Granger? I'm busy!" he snapped.

"It is if you want that filing room to ever get organized," Hermione replied, her voice unwavering.

Les fixed a level gaze on Hermione, but she refused to cower. Instead, she held her head up high. She watched as his round face gradually turned a darker shade of red.

"I don't have time for this, Granger," he growled through clenched teeth. Hermione wasn't sure what it was about that day, but she wasn't the slightest bit intimidated by his attempts to frighten her. In fact, he was beginning to look more and more like a small child throwing a temper tantrum.

"It will only take a minute, sir. Seconds even," Hermione kept going, even though a vein was starting to pop out on his forehead. "It is impossible for me to organize all those files in a week and carry on my regular responsibilities at the same time. I need an extra set of hands. That's it, plain and simple."

Les stared at her, apparently torn between being surprised by her daring or just plain pissed off. "Fine." He glared at her and then barked through the open door at his secretary. "Malfoy!"

Draco stopped what he was working on and approached the door wearily. "Sir?"

"Help Granger with the files. Now, both of you get out of my office."

Hermione left quickly, not wanting to push her luck. Draco trailed after her, a pinched expression on his face. Hermione noticed with slight resentment that he took the time to shut the door to Les's office.

"You did that on purpose," he said as soon as the door had clicked shut.

Hermione attempted to look innocent. "I don't know what you mean. How could I have known he would make _you_ help me?" She had had a good idea, but that was neither here nor there. "Besides, I would think you would be happy about this. Just yesterday you were telling me about how filing was your favorite thing to do." She couldn't keep the act up, and actually grinned at him in triumph.

Draco said nothing, just scowled and brushed past her on the way to the filing room. Hermione started to follow him, but froze in her tracks. She had been so set on making him suffer a tiny bit that she had failed to see the fatal flaw in her plan.

She was going to be working in a small, secluded room with _Draco Malfoy_ for a week.

* * *

Hermione had also conveniently forgotten that this was the same man she had a sex dream barely a day ago. Oh! And that the location for the sex dream just so happened to be her office.

It took being stuck in said office with him for this little detail to permeate her thick skull. Now she couldn't help but have vivid flashbacks while she tried to focus on the task at hand.

It certainly didn't help that Draco had undone a couple of the top buttons on his shirt and loosened his tie in a fit of frustration. She now had a lovely view of his collarbone and couldn't help but sneak peaks at it every chance she got. For some reason, she had the overwhelming urge to lick into the hollow at the base of his throat.

Was the room getting hotter?

"Hey."

That didn't make any sense. The temperature was controlled by cooling charms. Strange. She was starting to feel flush.

"Granger."

Hermione jerked out of her internal musings. She guiltily diverted her gaze from his collarbone to his face. "What?"

"What were you staring at?" he asked, not blinking. It made her uncomfortable when he did that.

"Something ugly," Hermione said automatically and stuck her nose in the air. It was the response that Ginny always gave her brothers when they asked her that question. Apparently, Hermione had picked up on it.

"Oh really?" A strange tone slipped into his voice, one that she had never heard from him before.

Hermione didn't say anything, but peeked over her shoulder to look at him. She practically jumped out of her skin when she realized that he was a considerable amount closer to her than when she had initially turned around.

"Are you sure…" He took a step toward her and Hermione took a step back. "…you didn't see something you liked?"

Draco reached up and tugged on the knot of his tie gently, bringing her attention back to his throat. The corner of his mouth was tilted upward in a smirk.

Hermione was confused, to say the least. Was she dreaming again? She didn't think so, but how could this be happening in real life? It defied all logic!

Obviously sensing that he was losing his audience, Draco took another step forward, invading Hermione's personal space. She took an automatic step backward, but came to a halt when her back met the filing cabinet.

Draco rested his forearm on the cabinet above her head and tilted his head to the side, as if studying her. "There's nowhere for you to go."

Even though he wasn't touching her, Hermione found this to be a very brave move on his part. It was the middle of the day, after all, and the door was wide open.

"I'll scream rape," Hermione said, suddenly inspired.

Draco's mouth twitched. "Can't rape the willing."

"Hold it!" Hermione exclaimed, finally realizing what the strange tone in his voice was. It was so subtle that she had had a hard time pinpointing it. "Are you… _teasing_ me?"

Draco dropped his arm to his side and rolled his eyes. "It certainly took you long enough. And you're supposed to be _smart_."

"Well, _excuse me_," Hermione retorted, her feathers ruffled. She didn't like being tricked and then insulted. "I didn't recognize you without your stick."

Draco raised a pale eyebrow. "Stick?"

"The one lodged up your backside."

Draco snorted. "You seem to have a strange fixation with my backside. Is there something I should know?"

"Bite me," Hermione mumbled, embarrassed.

"What's wrong, Granger?" Draco asked, the teasing lilt back in his voice. "Did you think I was serious?"

Maybe she had. Or maybe she had wanted him to be serious. No, that was ridiculous! It was all that stupid dream's fault.

"_So_-rry," Hermione said, not sounding the least bit sorry, "But the only two tones I've heard in your voice until today were snarky and cowardly."

Hermione was expecting him to take the bait of being called a coward, but he didn't say anything. He just stared at her, not blinking again. She was starting to get really uncomfortable.

"HERMIONE!"

Both Hermione and Draco jumped at the loud, unexpected voice in the office. Draco took a couple shuffled steps away form Hermione, and it wasn't until that moment that she realized he had been standing so close to her the whole time.

The new intruder in the office remained oblivious to all of this. She was far too furious.

"Weasellete," Draco greeted the fiery redhead and was ignored.

"What is this I hear about you turning down my brother's proposal?!" Ginny demanded, her narrowed eyes locked on Hermione.

"Hi, Ginny. Lovely to see you, too," Hermione said trying to sound flippant, but actually stalling for time. She hadn't expected this.

"Nice try," Ginny said, putting her hands on her hips. She knew Hermione too well to be fooled by that. "Now answer my question."

"Do you really think this is the right time and place?" Hermione asked, desperately not looking at Draco. She knew he had to be staring at her, but she was too terrified to find out.

Ginny shrugged. "Take an early lunch then."

"I can't. I'm way too busy." It was partially true but she mainly wanted to avoid Ginny and the rest of the Weasley family as long as possible. She just didn't feel up to explaining herself to them. She wanted them to understand, but knew that it was going to be very difficult.

Ginny gave her an incredulous look as if to say she didn't believe her, but she didn't push the issue. "Fine. I just want to say that I think this is a big mistake. I'm not just saying this as Ron's sister; I'm saying this as your friend."

"I'm sorry, Ginny, but I did what I felt was right."

Ginny frowned. "Just don't be late tonight." She turned to leave.

"Late?" Hermione asked, suddenly feeling that she was missing something important. "To what?"

Ginny paused. "Ron didn't tell you?" Hermione didn't want to tell her that Ron hadn't said much to her, ever since she had said no to his proposal. So she didn't say anything. When it became obvious she wasn't going to answer, Ginny filled her in. "We're all having dinner at Mom and Dad's tonight."

"Why?" How could she get out of this? All the Weasleys mad at her and in one place? She didn't want to think about it.

Ginny's face puckered. "It was supposed to be so you could announce your engagement, but now that that's down the crapper…"

"Oh," Hermione said quickly before she could continue. She didn't want to hear anymore.

Ginny left without saying anything else, leaving Hermione to stew in her thoughts. Unfortunately, she was still not alone and the other occupant in the room seemed ready to put his two cents in.

"What's the matter, Granger?" Draco drawled, catching her attention. "Not ready to become a Weasley breeding machine?"

"No," Hermione said firmly and locked eyes with him. "I'm not."

Neither of them moved for what felt like ages to Hermione. Finally, Draco's blank stare twitched into something resembling amusement. "Fair enough."

Two simple words, but they made Hermione feel a lot better.

* * *

Hermione sat outside the Burrow, staring at the garden and sighed a sigh that went all the way to her tired bones. It had been one of the longest days of her life.

Her time at work had been filled with filing and bickering with Draco but, oddly enough, that had gone by rather quickly. It was dinner at the Weasley's that seemed to be sucking the life out of her.

It wasn't that anyone was being openly hostile to her, but it was like there was giant pink elephant joining them at the table and no one dared be the one to point it out.

Molly's coolness towards Hermione and undertone of some of her comments weren't helping either. Hermione wasn't under any delusion that she had ever been the woman's favorite person, but she had at least thought she had earned some respect over the years.

The way she was treating her now reminded Hermione of fourth year when Molly had thought Hermione was cheating on Harry with Krum. It was a ridiculous and laughable lie, but still the older woman had seemed to think it was true. That had hurt Hermione more than she cared to admit. Just what kind of girl did Molly think she was?

"Meeeooow."

Hermione practically jumped out of her skin at the unexpected noise, but quickly cheered up when she recognized the deep timbre of that meow.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione squealed and gathered the large, ginger cat into her arms. The cat in turn immediately began purring and nuzzled his squished face against her jaw.

She sometimes forgot how much she missed having Crookshanks live with her. She had left him at the Weasley's during the attack at Fleur and Bill's wedding, and had since decided that he was much happier staying there. He had freedom and room to roam in a way that he never would, being stuck in a small apartment.

Still, she missed him.

Hermione knew she was being rude by hiding out like this, but she couldn't bring herself to go back in there just yet.

"Hermione."

"Hey, Harry," Hermione replied, knowing the owner of that voice right away.

Sure enough, Harry Potter moved into her vision and sat down next to her. His hair was as messy as ever, but Hermione found it strangely endearing. She had had a brief crush on him in her first year, but it had gone away when her feelings for Ron grew. Still, it made her smile to think he was probably her first real crush.

Harry gave her a scrutinizing look through the lenses in his glasses and the grin slowly slid off Hermione's face.

"What is it, Harry?"

"Hermione…" Harry trailed off, as if unsure about what he was about to say. "Why did you say no to Ron?"

Hermione sighed, and continued to stroke Crookshank's head in an effort to relax. "Don't tell me I have to explain myself to you too."

"I know that you don't quite feel ready, but Hermione," Harry grabbed Hermione's shoulder and squeezed lightly so she would look at him, "this is _Ron_ we're talking about."

Harry stopped talking and kept staring at her. Hermione vaguely wondered if that's all he thought it would take. "I'm very well aware of that, Harry."

"Then, why? You two were meant to be together."

Hermione could feel her hackles start to rise. "If you think I haven't thought about this long and hard, you are seriously mistaken."

"Sorry, Hermione." Harry sounded sheepish. "It's just, you two are my best friends and I don't want you to be unhappy."

Hermione stared out at the garden, not saying what she was thinking. What he really meant was that he didn't want Ron to be unhappy. He may have always called them both his best friends, but Hermione was no fool. She knew who really came first. It had always been that way and it always would. Even though Hermione had always let Harry know that she was on his side, there had been several times when Harry took Ron's side instead of hers.

That's not to say that she thought she was unimportant to Harry. Not by a long shot. It was just different from how he was with Ron. Ron could betray his trust like during the Triwizard Tournament or when he abandoned them in their search for the Horcuxes, and Harry would always welcome him back. Hermione had never tested it, but she wasn't quite sure she would receive the same treatment.

"Harry!"

Hermione was thankfully saved from the awkward conversation by Ginny, coming to fetch her boyfriend.

"It's time for us to go," Ginny said, approaching them.

"Alright." Harry got to his feet and studied Hermione from his new vantage point. "Hermione, will you at least think about it?"

Hermione pursed her lips and grunted in a noncommittal response. It was strange, but she was somewhat relieved when the two of them were gone.

She would have to go back inside soon and deal with a mopey Ron and his irate mother, but right at that second she would just enjoy the evening and purring cat on her lap.

* * *

**Kitty Neko: Sorry for the wait, college got hectic and sucked up all my soul! I'm sure you can relate. Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for the reviews! You guys are great! We should be getting to the more dramioneness aspect of the story soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

_I used to have a handle on life, but it broke. _

**Chapter 04**

Hermione closed the drawer for the G-files and sighed. It was Thursday and they weren't even halfway through with everything. She supposed she would have to skip lunch again and stay late. That was the only way she could foresee making the deadline.

Still, this wasn't entirely unfortunate. It gave her more excuses to not go home. Things were awkward as arse between her and Ron. When they got home from dinner at the Weasleys' house the day before, he hadn't said much before crawling into bed. A dark cloud seemed to have settled over their small apartment and Hermione was at a loss as to what she could do to get rid of it.

Hermione felt like she had come up against a brick wall and the only thing she could do was bang her head against it.

"Granger, how long are you planning on staring at that cabinet?" Draco's drawl interrupted her internal musings.

"However long it takes for me to learn how to make something spontaneously combust without magic."

"Do it on your own time," Draco grumbled. "I'd like to get this stupid assignment done some time this century."

"You sure are wound tightly this morning," Hermione noted. Draco furrowed his eyebrows and was about to respond, but she beat him to it. "Oh, who am I kidding? You're always wound tight."

Hermione expected he would get annoyed at this comment, but he only smirked.

"What?" Hermione asked, beginning to grow uncomfortable. There was something about the way he was looking at her that made her insides squirm. His gray eyes were dark and hooded as he took a step towards her.

Hermione instinctively backed up, but she had forgotten that there was a box behind her. Her foot stopped, but her bottom didn't and she lost balance. Positive that she was about to fall on her arse and make an idiot of herself, Hermione was surprised when warm arms shot out and wrapped around her waist, holding her steady.

Draco paused for a moment, before allowing his arms to drop to his sides and the corner of his mouth to twitch upward. "I think it's _you_ who's wound tightly."

Hermione's pulse had picked up, but she unceremoniously squashed it and shuffled sideways, away from Draco. "I imagine most people who are stuck in your presence for an extended amount of time get that way."

The smirk didn't leave Draco's face. Hermione was suddenly wistful for the days when her insults would wipe that smug look off his face and replace it with rage. She must have been losing her touch.

"Yes, but they usually also get a…" Draco met her eyes in such a way that Hermione couldn't misinterpret what he was saying as something besides innuendo… "_Release_."

"Or they pretend to."

Hermione was horrified with herself. The words had left her mouth before she had even had the chance to think them. Why was her voice betraying her?

"Hermione?"

The moment was interrupted by an extremely familiar voice.

"Ron?" Hermione asked, genuinely surprised. Her boyfriend had only been to her office a few times, after all. Not to mention the awkwardness that had settled over their relationship over the past couple days. The last thing she had expected from him was a spontaneous visit to her work.

She was actually a little thrilled. This meant that he was ready to talk and they could put this whole proposal thing behind them. Things would be normal again.

"Are you busy?" Ron asked.

Hermione laughed nervously, not sure why she was feeling so jittery. "Well, kinda, but I could take an early lunch probably." It was only ten in the morning, but she was hungry enough to eat already. She glanced at Draco, who shrugged. Obviously, it made no difference to him.

"Alright."

Ron's lackluster response was beginning to make her uneasy. She didn't understand why though. He may have been saying the bare minimum, but it was still more than he had said to her the last couple days.

"Just let me grab my wallet," Hermione said as she moved over to her desk. It felt odd, her being the one doing most of the talking. The two men in the room said nothing.

The walk through the ministry with a silent Ron wasn't helping the butterflies in her stomach one bit. With each step they took, a feeling of dread settled deeper within her.

"What do you want to eat?" Hermione asked, attempting to get the focus on one of Ron's favorite topics – food.

"It doesn't matter."

That was a total failure.

Not feeling in the mood for cafeteria food, Hermione led her boyfriend out of the Ministry and to a nearby sandwich shop. It was somewhere she came often and had always thought Ron would enjoy.

The store was empty except for the workers behind the counter. Hermione figured she would get her usual turkey and cheese sandwich. She was feeling too odd to enjoy perusing the menu.

"What do you want?" she asked Ron, hoping against hope that he would have some enthusiasm in his answer this time. She knew something was wrong, but didn't want to believe it.

"It doesn't matter."

Hermione felt a lump gather in her throat, but forced it away and turned towards to the teenager waiting to take her order. "Two turkey and cheese with everything on them."

"Hermione."

Hermione was terrified to turn around. She just knew this was it. This was the moment she had refused to imagine happening ever since this fiasco had started. Deep down, she had known it was a possibility, but her brain wouldn't let her even consider it. She didn't want it to happen, but knew that it was far too late to do anything about it.

She couldn't turn around.

"Hermione…"

Maybe if she didn't look at him, he couldn't say it.

"…I'm moving out."

Maybe not.

Hermione stared at the menu behind the counter, her eyes not really seeing anything. Ron continued talking, despite the fact that she hadn't acknowledged hearing the first part.

"I talked to George. He's going to help me move all my things out while you're at work today. I'm going to move in with him."

It was an odd sensation for Hermione. To have someone calmly explain to her that her life was changing and she was powerless to stop it. She couldn't wrap her brain around it. She had always loved Ron. She'd been with him for years. And it was just ending?

"I thought I should tell you in person. I didn't want to do this when you were at work, but I also didn't want to wait until you got home and saw my stuff was gone," Ron said. "I'm sorry, but I can't be with someone who doesn't want to marry me."

"But I do want to marry you," Hermione said, surprising herself.

"You keep saying that," Ron said, anger starting to creep into his voice. "But, you don't really. Otherwise you would have said yes when I proposed."

"I already explained my reasons," Hermione said and finally was able to turn around. She stared up at Ron's familiar face, her stomach clenching painfully.

"They weren't good enough."

And that was it, really. What else could she say to that? Demand that he consider her feelings for once in their relationship? Yell at him? They were in public. Making a scene was something she would never do.

"Look, I have a lot to do today." Ron scratched the back of his head, uncomfortable with the situation. "I'm going to go. I hope you get whatever it is that you want."

What she wanted? At the moment, Hermione couldn't seem to remember she had ever wanted anything besides the man walking away from her. Something seemed to break inside her at that moment, but Hermione refused to acknowledge it. She had things to do; things that didn't involve her crumbling love-life.

Because, even after everything, she did have things she wanted and she would do whatever it took to make them happen.

"Your sandwiches?"

Hermione spun around at the teenager's timid voice. By the look on his face, Hermione guessed that he had just heard that entire exchange between her and Ron. She paid for the food and left quickly, not wanting to eat there, with him giving her that sympathetic look.

She had a lot of work to get done still. She would just eat at the office. The thought was unappealing however, since the thought of food made her stomach flop. She had an extra sandwich too. She seriously doubted she was going to be able to eat one. Two was impossible.

Struck with sudden inspiration, Hermione shoved the extra sandwich in Draco's hands when she returned to the office.

"Here. I bought you lunch."

"Did you poison it?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrow at the unexpected gesture.

Hermione shrugged, not in the mood for their usual banter. She tossed her own uneaten sandwich on her desk and started where she left off on the filing.

Hermione could feel the silence in the room more than she heard it. Nevertheless, Draco didn't say anything. She was extremely grateful.

* * *

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"What?" Hermione asked, not really paying attention.

"Eat. You know, when you put food in your mouth, chew it, and swallow?" Draco asked, sarcasm creeping into his voice.

Hermione turned and stared at him. She blinked. Why was it that the only thing she heard him say was 'swallow'?

Noticing her blank stare, Draco pointed at her desk where her uneaten sandwich lay. "It's already two o'clock. Aren't you going to eat lunch?"

"Oh." Hermione looked away, willing her face not to flush. "No, I'm not really hungry. I had a big breakfast. I'll just take it home with me and eat it later."

It was a lie. She had no intention of eating when her stomach was feeling so queasy, but didn't feel the need to tell him. There was a feeling of dread at going home that Hermione couldn't shake. She wondered at those feelings; it wasn't like she was going to have to face Ron when she got there. All the same, she wasn't looking forward to it.

"Fine," Malfoy said, irritation lacing his tone. "Do what you want."

"I will," Hermione said and went back to her filing.

* * *

It was at eight o'clock that evening that Hermione could no longer justify staying at the office. Draco had left at five and the building had been practically empty since six, save for the cleaning crew. Her stomach was awfully angry at her too and was being very vocal about it. She wouldn't have been surprised if they could hear the growling in the next building over.

She had briefly considered eating the sandwich she bought for lunch, but ended up tossing it in the trash after deciding that it didn't seem very appetizing anymore.

Deciding that she was in no mood to cook, Hermione dropped by her favorite take-out restaurant on the way home. The smell of it only made her stomach rumble more in excitement. She couldn't believe she had allowed herself to get so hungry! She was just relieved that the queasiness had eventually gone away.

Actually feeling less nervous, Hermione unlocked the door to her apartment and swung it open. Shock hit.

The kitchen table was gone, as were all the chairs around it. She should have realized that Ron would take it, since his mother bought it for them, but it was a shock all the same. Hermione set her food down by the door and went to inspect the rest of the rooms. As she looked around the apartment, she noticed more and more things. The coffee table, lamp, the silverware, the desk, and even the dresser in their bedroom were gone. Hermione's clothes had been laid out in neat piles on the bed.

At least she still had a bed, Hermione thought wryly. Even as she thought it, she realized that Ron leaving the bed was being generous. It was a huge king sized thing that Ron had insisted they needed and bought with his own money. In fact, the more she thought about it, Hermione realized that everything Ron had taken had rightfully belonged to him. They were either things his parents had bought for them, or things he had bought with his own money.

Basically, the only things that belonged to her in that apartment were the sofa and bookcase. The really sad thing was that those were both gifts from her parents. How had she ended up living like that? And what was worse – she hadn't even realized it until it was all gone.

Hermione trekked back over to the entryway and retrieved her food. There was nothing she could do about her situation now. Once seated on the sofa with her food in her lap, Hermione became aware of a kink in her plan. There was no plastic silverware in the bag… and Ron had taken the silverware.

_At least I'm alone_, Hermione thought as she began to shovel rice into her mouth with her fingers. It was very undignified.

"Hermione?"

Hermione froze with her fingers in her mouth and rice all over her lap. The voice had come from the fireplace, and when she turned to look she saw Ginny's head.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked, but kept going before Hermione could answer her. "Nevermind that! Thank Merlin you're home! Harry and I have been flooing you for hours! We were just about to go to your office! Ron told us what happened! Are you okay?" She was talking so fast and firing off questions one right after the other. It was a miracle that she managed to say it all in one breath.

"I… uh…" Hermione stumbled over her words, not quite sure what to say.

"Oh! You don't have to answer. We'll be there in a second!"

"No, Ginny, wait!" Hermione sputtered, but it was too late. Ginny's face had disappeared from the fire and someone was already knocking on her door.

Hermione sighed and set her food down before getting up to open the door. It wasn't as if she could pretend not to be home.

"Hermione!" Ginny cried as soon as Hermione opened the door. She tossed her arms around Hermione's neck and the curly haired girl stumbled backward a couple steps. "This is awful!" Ginny exclaimed, burying her face in Hermione's hair. Over Ginny's shoulder, Hermione saw Harry enter the apartment and close the door behind him.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Hermione answered truthfully. She was actually kind of relieved to see the two of them there, even if she would have preferred to be alone. At least this way she knew that they weren't angry at her.

"I can't believe this is happening," Harry said.

"Me either," Hermione agreed.

"You can still get him back," Ginny chimed in, letting her arms drop from around Hermione.

Not liking the direction this conversation was going, Hermione laughed nervously. "No, I don't think so. It's kind of a done deal."

"No it isn't!" Ginny argued, looking imploringly into Hermione's eyes. "I know my brother – he can be stubborn sometimes, but he's not unreasonable. If you agreed to marry him, I'm sure he'd forgive you!"

"I can't do that," Hermione said firmly. There was no way she was going to back down on this issue. She refused to get married when she was having such huge doubts.

"Isn't there something else you can do?" Harry asked, treading lightly. "I mean, I just can't believe that it would end like this. You two have been in love for years! Can't you do _something_?"

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but stopped. She could understand why they were pushing this so hard, since they all had close ties and a break-up like this would make things awkward for everyone, but it was still irking her.

"Look, if you care so much, go bother Ron. I'm tired and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. I need to get ready for bed soon." It was a bit of a stretch, but she couldn't think of another way to get rid of them.

Both Harry and Ginny looked taken aback by that 'bother' comment, but not angry. They sent loaded glances at each other and seemed to come to some kind of mutual agreement.

"Okay, Hermione, we can take a hint. We'll leave. Just let us know if you need anything," Harry said kindly.

His kindness only irked her more.

"Thanks," Hermione said, trying to mean it. She saw them to the door and waved until they had Apparated away.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Hermione returned to the sofa. She was about to finish her dinner, but realized that she was no longer hungry.

She threw the food away without another thought.

* * *

**Kitty Neko: Woohoo! Now that Ron is out of the picture, we can have a lot of Draco fun. Thanks to everyone that took the time to review! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?_

**Chapter 05**

Hermione Granger did not sleep well that night. Now matter what she did, she just could not stay asleep. It was, after all, the first time she had slept alone in a long time. Despite the fact that she had a king sized bed to herself, Hermione remained on the left side of the bed and unable to get comfortable.

The room was almost pitch black but Hermione lay with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling, and wondering why she was not crying.

It didn't make sense.

By all accounts she should have been a broken, weepy mess – unable to get out of bed and eating everything in the fridge. She supposed that idea was a bit stereotypical, but crying had been her reaction during third year when she was stressed. She didn't feel angry either, like during the Ron and Lavender thing. She didn't really feel _anything_ besides restless.

Hermione finally gave up at five in the morning and hopped in the shower. She was at the office by six. The mindless process of filing didn't require much brain power, but at least it kept her hands busy.

"How long have you been here?" Draco asked when he walked into the room at eight and spotted her, quite obviously deep into the filing.

"Not long," Hermione lied, feeling that it was really none of his business. Draco didn't say anything else, something for which she was immensely grateful.

Harry came by and took her out to lunch around noon. Their conversation was stilted, but Hermione still recognized that he was making the effort to comfort her. For his sake, she choked down a salad and then went back to work.

The day went by in one huge, file-filled blur. Hermione was relieved when five o'clock finally rolled around and Draco left for the day. It wasn't that he was exactly bothering her, but his presence made her uncomfortable. Him not really saying anything that day wasn't helping things either.

However, he reappeared a couple hours later.

"You're still here?" he said, by way of greeting.

"Obviously," Hermione responded. She didn't look away from what she was doing. Great. He just had to come back when she was starting to relax.

Draco simply snorted. "This is just sad."

"Is there a reason you're here?" Hermione asked, irritation creeping into her tone.

"I left something in my desk. Why are you still here so late on a Friday night?" Draco asked bluntly.

"In case you haven't noticed, there's quite a bit of filing left to do, and if I don't stay late, it will never be over!" Hermione snapped, her patience at an end. "If you care so much, why don't you stay late and help me?"

"I don't remember saying I cared," Draco simply said and walked away. Apparently he had no intention of putting in overtime to get the work finished.

Hermione continued to work for another hour or so, but her stomach's protests finally halted her. She picked up some fast food again on her way home and returned to the depressingly empty flat.

Harry's floating head greeted her from the fireplace when she walked through the door.

"Oh good! You're home!" Harry said, obviously missing the look of disbelief that crossed Hermione's face.

"Are you checking up on me?" Hermione asked, just to be sure.

"Just to see if you got home alright," Harry said after a beat of silence.

"I see," Hermione said, wondering why it seemed that everything was annoying her that day. "Well, thanks, but I'm fine."

"I guess I will leave you alone then." Harry had obviously picked up on her tone. "I was at your apartment earlier and you got an owl. I left your mail in the kitchen."

"Thanks," Hermione said, at least half meaning it.

Hermione said goodbye to Harry before promptly disconnecting her floo network. She just wasn't up to anymore company at the moment. She briefly considered eating her dinner before looking at the mail, but decided against it. She was just too antsy to sit around, even if it was just to eat.

Hermione located her mail and noticed it was mostly junk. She was pleasantly surprised to see her issue of the Quibbler had arrived, but that was overshadowed by something much worse. She grabbed the last letter and stared at it, a horrible realization washing over her. Just to be sure, she broke the seal and quickly read the statement. It was the bill for her flat and there was no way she could pay for it on her own.

Hermione continued to stare at the number on the statement in disbelief. She was positive she could get Ron to pay for his half of this last month, but after that she would be on her own.

She was going to have to move.

Hermione sighed and tossed the mail back on the counter. Nothing sounded better at that moment than crawling in bed and going to sleep, so that was exactly what she did.

* * *

Hermione's sleep wasn't a restful one and it didn't last nearly as long as she had hoped. It was a Saturday morning, so she was kind of hoping to be able to sleep in. She didn't know why she had thought it was possible – she had never been the type to sleep in.

Feeling like she was wasting time, Hermione tossed her covers off and hopped into the shower. Freshly cleaned and into some comfortable clothes, she tried reading a book. That was something that was always able to calm her nerves.

Alas, that didn't work either. She couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to get up and do something. Unfortunately, there wasn't really much she could do. She could go shopping for some new books, but that seemed kind of pointless since she wasn't in the mood to read. She could call her friends, but also wasn't feeling very sociable.

It was inevitable that she would end up back at work.

* * *

Hermione paused in her work to stretch out the kinks in her back. She had no idea how long she had been at it, but it had been dark for a while.

The work was making her feel better. It kept her hands busy and made her feel like she had a purpose. Not to mention, she had made some serious headway in the filing and was almost certain that she would make the deadline.

It was a good feeling.

"What are you _doing_?"

Hermione jumped sky high at the unexpected voice right behind her. The ministry was practically empty since it was a Saturday, and no one had bothered her up until that moment.

"Malfoy!" Hermione snapped, feeling particularly hostile since he had intruded upon her makeshift sanctuary. Strange, she thought to herself, that only a few days ago this room had been her own personal hell. "You scared me!"

"What are you _doing_, Granger?" Draco repeated, staring around the room with an incredulous expression.

"I'm filing, of course," Hermione said, regaining her composure.

"Uh huh. And how long have you been at this?" Draco asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I'm sure that it's really none of your business." Hermione turned her nose in the air, a bit miffed at his bluntness and also a bit sheepish. She wasn't sure why she was letting him make her feel guilty.

"Right." Draco looked around the room. "You've been here all day, haven't you?" Hermione's silence was all the answer he needed.

Draco stepped into the room and sat on her desk, raising her hackles. Never mind that it made her think back to her wet dream with her on flat on her back on that very desk, but she had always hated people sitting on her desk.

"I heard about the Weasel moving out," Draco said, snapping her back to reality just like that.

"So?" Hermione asked, wondering if he had a point. She was sure that whatever it was, it wasn't going to be comforting. Besides, how had he heard about it? It made her uneasy to think that she was quite obviously the current source of gossip going around. It would have to be for someone so not involved like Draco to know about it. Draco said nothing, squinting his eyes and looking at her as if scrutinizing her.

"Have you at least eaten anything?" he finally asked, startling her.

"Of course I ha-" Hermione was cut off by her own stomach's betrayal. The growl was very audible in the tiny room.

Draco raised a pale eyebrow, his gaze fixed on her. "When was the last time you ate something?"

Hermione was surprised by the question. Not just that he had asked it but that when she thought back on it, she didn't actually remember the last time she had eaten. Strange.

Draco was still staring at her but when she didn't respond, he sighed and leaned his hand on her desk. "That's what I thought."

Hermione was feeling very uncomfortable. She didn't really understand what was going on. Something just seemed off to her. "Why are you here?" she finally asked.

Hermione noticed that Draco's usual blank mask faltered for a second and a look of confusion crossed his face. It was only there briefly before it was replaced by annoyance. He seemed to make his mind up about something and got to his feet.

"Come on," he said.

Hermione could only think of one response. "Huh?"

Draco's eyes flashed with irritation that he had to repeat himself. "Come on. Let's go."

Putting aside for a moment that there was no way she would go anywhere with him and that it was odd he would even be asking her to, Hermione was curious. "Go where?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes," Hermione said bluntly. She certainly wasn't going to blindly follow him into a dark alley. Not that she really thought he would try to kill her or anything, but that was beside the point.

Draco stared at her for a couple more seconds. "Have it your way, but doesn't it make you curious?"

"What?" Hermione asked, trying to keep up in this unusual conversation.

"Where I would take you?"

Hermione blinked. Of course she was curious. However that little-old-saying about cats and curiosity kept popping up in her mind. Still…

"Granger?"

Hermione snapped her attention back to the blond.

"If you don't come with me now, you will never know. Do you think your over-sized brain could handle an unsolved mystery?" Draco smirked.

Hermione licked her lips, thinking hard. She knew he was attempting to manipulate her into doing what he wanted, but she wasn't sure she cared. If he was truly up to something devious, he wouldn't have made it so obvious.

There was really only one thing she could do, right?

* * *

"A bar?"

Draco said nothing. He didn't even spare her a glance before he walked over to the bar and sat down.

Hermione stood in the entryway, unsure of what to do. Of all the scenarios that had run through her mind, this had not been one of them. Not only were they at a bar, but it was a muggle bar. She supposed that made sense, since the two of them going to the Leaky Cauldron together might be a bit conspicuous. But still.

The place had a fair amount of people, but was far from packed. She had the suspicion that was because it was only 10:30.

Hermione stood fidgeting for a couple more seconds before she gave up and went to sit next to Draco. She had just plopped down on the stool when the bartender approached them.

"What can I get for you today?" The young woman asked, smiling at them both. Hermione had always assumed bartenders would be surly old men, but what did she know? It wasn't like she had been in many bars to begin with.

"I'll have whatever you have on tap," Draco answered, and then finally turned to look at Hermione. "Do you want anything?"

"No thanks," Hermione said automatically.

Draco turned back to the bartender. "Do you have any food here?"

"Just a club sandwich."

Draco jerked his head in Hermione's direction. "She'll have one of those then."

"Hey!" Hermione said indignantly. The bartender was already moving away. "I said I didn't want anything."

Draco ignored her. When it became obvious he wasn't going to respond to that, Hermione let out a sigh of frustration through clenched teeth. This silent treatment was seriously starting to make her angry.

The bartender returned and placed the food in front of Hermione and a beer in front of Draco. Hermione was just wondering how she was going to pay since she wasn't carrying any muggle money, when Draco pulled a credit card out of his pocket. Hermione's eyes bulged out.

"It's on me," Draco said to the bartender, who left to swipe the card.

"What are you doing with a credit card?" Hermione whispered fiercely.

Draco shrugged and took a sip of his beer. He grimaced and made a face at the drink. Hermione wondered if it was the first time he had had muggle beer. "It's easier than messing with those 'pound' things."

"I mean, what are you doing with muggle money in the first place?"

Draco finally turned in his seat to look at her. He knew exactly what she was getting at, but didn't seem to want to go into such a heated discussion, so he gave the simplest answer. "I like being prepared. You can understand something like that, right?"

Hermione was spared having to respond by the bartender who returned with Draco's card. She handed it to him and then flashed Hermione a toothy grin.

"Free food, huh? The next best thing to sex!"

Hermione snorted, thinking of her most recent sexual encounters. She looked at the sandwich, which made her stomach rumble in anticipation. "Right now I'm kind of liking the free food more."

The bartender moved away from them, her tinkling laughter trailing with her.

Draco arched a pale eyebrow at her. Hermione had a good idea of what he was thinking, but didn't feel like answering any questions about her sex life. She was thankful that he didn't bother asking.

Hermione's stomach rumbled painfully, and she returned her attention to the sandwich. It really did look tasty. She examined it for a moment, and then picked it up. It was huge and she had to consider for a couple seconds how she was going to eat it. It would definitely be unladylike.

"Just eat it already," Draco said, his patience obviously coming to an end.

Hermione shot him a glare, but shrugged internally. It wasn't like she had anyone to impress. She opened her mouth as wide as it would go and took a huge bite out of the sandwich, the juice from the tomato running down her chin in the process. She couldn't help her eyes rolling back in her head or the soft moan that came from deep in her throat. Sex had nothing on this.

"That good, huh?" Draco asked, the teasing lilt making its return to his voice. Hermione didn't care. Until that moment, she hadn't realized exactly how hungry she had let herself get. Hermione had barely swallowed her first bite when she was already ripping another chunk of sandwich off with her teeth.

"Woah, Granger, slow down. You'll make yourself sick if you eat too fast on an empty stomach," Draco said and then surprised her by putting his hand on her shoulder. It was enough of a shock that she stopped chewing. Luckily, he just thought that she was listening to his advice. "Why don't you drink something?"

Hermione forced herself to swallow the bite of food in her mouth and looked from his hand on her shoulder to his face. "What are you up to?" she finally asked.

Draco looked genuinely confused. Hermione wasn't sure whether to believe it or not. This whole situation was just too bizarre. "Up to?"

"Yes." Hermione gestured to the bar, her sandwich, and then to the hand he still had on her shoulder. Draco promptly dropped it. "This whole 'being nice' to me thing. What are you up to? Because I have to be honest, it's making me nervous."

"Being nice?" Draco looked positively appalled at the accusation.

It was Hermione's turn to arch an eyebrow. "Yea. You got me out of the office and now you're feeding me. What else would you call it?"

Draco seemed to really be considering her question. He took another gulp of his beer and said, "I suppose I am being… nice." He shuddered. "I just hadn't thought of it that way."

"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you doing this?" Hermione wanted to keep her eyes on him, but her stomach was angrily reminding her that it was empty and there was still a delicious sandwich sitting in front of her. She took another bite but tried to chew it slower this time.

"I don't really know," Draco finally said. Hermione looked like she was about to say something, but he cut her off. "I guess it's because I don't hate you."

A piece of lettuce lodged itself in Hermione's throat, sending her into a coughing fit. That was definitely not an answer she had been expecting. Draco glanced at her, but obviously decided her life wasn't in any immediate danger because he kept talking over her coughing.

"Truthfully, I was a little apprehensive when I first found out that we were going to be working in the same department a year ago. I thought it would just be a continuation of our school years and you acting like the bossy cow you always were. But you surprised me. You're very professional." He smirked. "Unless I provoke you, of course. I have to admit, I get a kick out of it sometimes."

She knew it! She knew he got some sort of perverse pleasure out of torturing her! Bossy cow, huh? For some reason, being called that didn't upset her as much as it used to.

The bartender swooped over and placed a glass of water in front of Hermione. Hermione smiled weakly at her in thanks and took a big swig, trying to clear her throat.

Draco kept talking. "It was the only time that I saw you acting… I don't know. Like you had a personality?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione demanded, but her voice was a little shaky from her coughing fit. "I have a lot of personality, thank you very much."

Draco gave her an exasperated look. "I know that, Granger. I just meant that when you bitch at me you're not acting your part of the Golden Trio. You know, the whole little good girl, the brains of the operation thing that you fell into during what would have been our Seventh year of school."

Hermione gaped at him, unsure of what to say. His words were echoing thoughts she had had recently, about how she had recently lost sight of who she was. Still, the fact that she was hearing this from him was… surreal.

Draco took another swig of beer, finishing his glass. "I gotta tell you, it was sickening. You playing the sidekick who follows orders from Potter like a damn lapdog and becoming the Weasel's well-behaved girlfriend." He shuddered.

Only one thought came to Hermione's head. "Are you drunk?"

Draco laughed a genuine laugh and it was a sound that Hermione was really not familiar with. The sound of it sent shivers down her spine, and she was horrified to realize they were not shivers of disgust or fear.

"Not yet. But I plan to be after this conversation."

Hermione felt her lips want to turn up in a smile, but she was fighting it. "After this conversation, even I might have to get drunk."

She had just been joking but before she could stop him, Draco had waved the bartender over. "I'll have another beer." He turned to Hermione. "What do you want? Beer?"

"Um…" She hadn't exactly ever drank before, but she was pretty sure beer was not going to appeal to her. She wracked her brain for something to order. She had been out with Harry and Ron once and they had gotten her a rum and coke. The memory of Ron brought a lump to her throat.

"Tequila," She said, managing to sound more sure than she felt.

While the bartender went to get her drink, Draco gave her a scrutinizing look. "Are you sure about that?"

"Sure!" Hermione chirped. "Why not? The man I thought I would marry someday moved out. My friends are irritating the crap out of me. What have I got to lose?" She had said it cheerfully enough, but speaking the words out loud somehow made it seem more real. Ron had really left her. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"How about that sandwich I just bought for you?" Draco muttered under his breath, but Hermione heard him anyway.

"Oh, please, I'm not going to get that drunk. I'm Hermione Granger, remember?"

"As if I could ever forget."

Hermione would have taken issue with the way he said that, but the bartender had brought their drinks.

Draco took another swig, keeping his eyes on her. He was watching her stare at the shot glass full of amber liquid. She wasn't quite sure how to approach it. She had watched other people take shots, but had never done it herself. Draco seemed to have guessed as much.

"Just down it as fast as you can, and try not to taste it too much," he said, amusement in his voice.

Hermione wasn't so sure about this, but she didn't want to back down in front of Draco. That would just be unacceptable.

Trying not to over think it, Hermione picked up the small glass and tossed her head back as she poured the liquid in her mouth. The alcohol burned on the way down, the taste not exactly pleasant. It was a few moments before she was sure she could talk normally. "Ew. Why would anyone drink this stuff?"

Draco laughed again, and she turned to glare at him. "What?" she demanded.

"You surprise me, Granger."

"You mean not liking the tequila?" Hermione asked, not sure what else he could be talking about.

"No. I figured that much. I mean," he paused, as if not sure he should say this. Apparently he decided he didn't care about her feelings all that much, because he finished what he was going to say anyway. "I was surprised that you said no to the Weasel's proposal. I kinda figured you would be married within the year and popping out babies one after the other."

Hermione made a face. She was beginning to feel the affects of the alcohol. It wasn't much, just a warm burn in her belly. "I think that's what Ron saw too."

"So that's why you said no?"

Hermione didn't look at him. "That was part of it."

"But not all of it?"

Hermione could hear the implied question in his voice, but still didn't turn to look at him. She didn't have any idea why he was being so nosey, but for some reason it wasn't really bothering her. Perhaps it was because he was the only person who was actually curious about her reasons, rather than trying to convince her that she had made some huge mistake. It almost seemed like he took her side on the matter. Not that that made her feel better. In fact, it was almost enough to make her reconsider Ron's proposal.

She snorted again.

"You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to," Draco said, setting his beer down. Hearing those words come from him was a surprise. He was showing tact? This whole situation just kept throwing her for a loop. The way they were talking was almost as if they were friends. But that was just ridiculous. Still, she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief by his presence, asking her about her side of things. It was more than she had gotten from her friends lately.

"I want to talk about it," Hermione said, surprising both of them. Draco stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

Hermione opened her mouth, unsure of where to begin, and then closed her mouth with a click of teeth. Instead, she caught the bartender's eye and waved her over again. Only then did she turn to Draco and say, "I may need another shot of Tequila before I do, though."

* * *

**Kitty Neko: Don't die of shock now that I updated. It's summer and I have survived another semester of college, so I should be able to update faster! I hope you liked it!**


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